10 October 2017 :
With the help of jurors, Justice Monfred Momoh Sesay at the Bo High Court convicted and sentenced to death six armed robbers for Conspiracy and Robbery with Aggravation.
The convicts include; Augustine Omaska (aka G-Father), Daniel George, Claude Nahas, Thomas Mando (aka Love-T), Aruna Bangura (Akon) and Steven Joel Smart.
They were convicted in the on-going High Court Special Criminal Session that was initiated by the Chief Justice to see how best pending cases across the country can be concluded within the shortest possible time to discourage prison congestion.
According to the prosecuting team led by Joseph A.K. Sesay, the convicts were brought to Court as a result of being armed with guns and machete attacks residents in Pujehun Town in March 2017 robbing them of their valuables and cash.
The jurors who have been listening to the trial unanimously agreed on the verdict that all the accused are guilty of both charges levied against them and Justice Monfred Momoh Sesay without wasting the Court’s time convicted them with the maximum penalty levied on them sentenced to death by firing squad publicly.
As part of their legal rights, the convicts have the right to appeal their sentence within 21 days or face the full penalty of the law as provided in the laws of the land.
For years, there has been a moratorium on the use of the death penalty despite recent outcry by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Alfred Palo Conteh, for the gallows to be cleaned.